Second Chances
by BlindBandit39
Summary: Kidnapped at ten years old, murder and war were the only things Toph Bei Fong has ever known. But when a sudden storm takes her far away, will she find friendship and happiness for the first time? AU/ High T Rate and review, maybe?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: This is set about 3 years AFTER the original show, meaning the ages changed. So Toph and Aang would be 15, Katara would be 17, and so on and so forth.

Enjoy!

"Dammit!" Number 52 yelled, as her hair got pulled yet again by one of the branches reaching across the vast swamp. Her companions, Number 24 and Number 53 laughed at her misfortune. Even though they had been hiking through the swamp all day, every day for the past week, they still managed to keep their spirits up.

"Told ya you shoulda worn it in a ponytail or somethin", Number 53 said. Number 52 scowled.

"Next time I'll take you advice, oh Wise One", she said sarcastically.

"That's all I ask", he replied. Number 52 rolled her sightless eyes and continued to hack her way forward.

"I still don't understand how you can get around here, being that there's no solid earth anywhere in this swamp", Number 24, one of the only other girls, said.

"I barely can", Number 52 said darkly. "Don't remind me." They walk in silence for a couple more minutes, before a loud, booming voice cut through the heavy air like a knife.

"Numbers 52 and 17, front and center!" Sergeant said. Sergeant was a cruel man, with a thin mustache and a cold, stony face. When Number 52 heard her number being called, she immediately worked her way to the front of the large group. She knew her number well. Ever since she was 10, that's what she'd been called. She had another name, at one point, but that was many years ago, before she'd been taken by the Boryokudan. She heard Sergeant, and knew to stop, or she'd bump right into him. Number 17 was already there, the suck-up.

"Yes, sir?" Number 17 asked.

"You two will be keeping watch tonight", he said.

"Sir, you may have forgotten, but I'm blind", Number 52 remind him, waving her hand in front of her face to prove her point. Number 17 turned to her, a look of outrage on his face.

"That's your excuse EVERY time! You never have to stay up all night, because you're "blind". Well you can still hear, can't you?" he yelled at her.

"Enough", Sergeant said. Number 17 nodded meekly before looking at the ground. "17 is right. You do have rather keen hearing. You'll stay up, and keep watch." And with that, they were dismissed.

The sun was set, and snore were coming from all around the huge campsite. They were camped on a fairly solid piece of swamp, but Number 52's vibrations were still blurry. She tried to keep an ear out for trouble, but with Number 17 talking loudly beside her, it proved difficult.

"So, 52, you get around?" he asked. Number 52 clenched her teeth and kept her eyes straight ahead.

"I mean, you're, what, one out of six, maybe seven girls?" he continued. "And, between you and me…you're definitely the most attractive."

"Shut up, will ya?" Number 52 snapped, hatred building up inside her.

"You get some from one of your roomies? You and 53 seem close", he said with a wide smirk.

"We're friends", she said through clenched teeth, a warning sign to most people who weren't complete idiots to stop talking.

"Okay, okay. How 'bout anyone else? You gettin' any from them? I know most guys around here would kill for a go with you", Number 17 said.

"I said shut UP!" Number 52 roared, standing up. Her fists were clenched and her ears were red.

"Woah, girl, calm down! You wanna wake the whole damn camp?" he exclaimed. Still seething, Number 52 sat back down from her sudden standing position.

"I mean, if it was any other time, you can yell all ya want. I like 'em feisty", he rambled. "In fact, I bet I could make you scream, if ya catch my drift."

"That's it!" Number 52 yelled, jumping on top of Number 17 and about to pound his face in when she heard a strange whirring noise. Her fist dropped, and her whole body tensed, listening to the noise. She felt Number 17 shift underneath her, a triumphant smirk on him face.

"Kinky", he said, his hand inching towards her shirt, when a gust of wind threw her off of him.

"Hey!" she shouted, waking up a few people. Number 53 walked out of his tent, as did Sergeant and a few others.

"What is going on out here?" Sergeant yelled over the wind.

"I don't know!" Number 52 yelled back. "It randomly-OOPH!" She was cut short as she was thrown into a large tree. Warm, wet fluid seeped down her back, and she new it to be blood.

"52!" Number 53 yelled, trying to run towards her despite the heavy wind. She felt his hands right on her fingertips, reaching to pull her into safety, into warmth. But before he could grasp her had, she was lifted off the ground by some unknown force.

The rushing of the wind was the last thing she heard before blacking out


	2. Chap 1 Of Meat and Discoveries

Disclaimer: I only own some peanut butter crackers.

The sun was just beginning to rise when Sokka, Suki, Aang, Katara, and Zuko woke up. Well, actually, Sokka woke up first, and then proceeded to wake everyone else up with a rather girly scream.

"Whaa-? Who…Sokka?" Aang asked, relaxing from his stance. Zuko had sprung up as well, screaming something about Fire Nation soldiers. When he saw that there was no real danger, he facepamled, slowly dragging his hand from his forehead to his chin.

"Sokka, please tell me you had a good reason for waking me up", he said with a deathly calmness.

"We're…out of meat!" Sokka exclaimed. Aang flopped back to the ground, but Zuko went up to Sokka and slapped him upside the head.

"That's what you woke up up for?" Katara yelled. She then turned to Suki.

"You won't mind if I kill my brother, will you?" she asked. Suki shrugged.

"How about: seriously injure?" she said and saw Sokka pale visibly, knowing the wrath his sister could bestow upon him.

"How about you and Zuko go hunt for meat, then?" Aang said, with his arm over his head, playing peacemaker. Zuko shot him a glare.

"Why do I have to go? Why not you?" he asked

"Uhmm…vegetarian, here?" he said, pointing out the obvious.

And so, with continuous grumbling and half-finished threats, Zuko and Sokka set out to go find "nature's man candy", as Sokka liked to call it. As they walked, Zuko's mind wandered to how he joined the "Gaang", another one of Sokka's ridiculous nicknames. It was just after the Day of Black Sun. He had caught up with them rather quickly, and asked if he could join the Avatar. At first, the vote was unanimous; no. Strictly and utterly no. But he kept coming back, hoping that they would accept him. After days of begging and groveling, they finally said he could join. He wasn't accepted, and his only purpose was to teach Aang firebending. After all, he was far behind on his training. He only had airbending and waterbending mastered. Bumi had taught him the basics of earthbending, but they were quickly forgotten. After time, the group had come to accept Zuko. Aang first, when they learned the real secrets of firebending. Then Sokka, when had helped save his dad and girlfriend from the Boiling Rock prison. And finally Katara. She'd been the most difficult, but when Zuko helped her avenge her mother, she grudgingly accepted him. He was broken from his thoughts with a rustling noise from behind a thicket of bushes.

"Okay, Zuko, you gotta be extremely quiet so you can sneak up on it", Sokka said, tiptoeing towards the bushed.

"Sokka, you're making more noise than me", Zuko pointed out.

"SHHH!" Sokka said from his crouching position. Zuko rolled his eyes. They were almost behind the bush when a small whimpering broke through the clear air. Sokka smiled, and the look of it made Zuko actually fear for his life.

"Ready…set…NOW!" And with a roar, Sokka pounced. But instead of hearing growls or signs of struggle from the animal, there was only a shard intake of breath from Sokka. Zuko made his way to the other side of the shrub to see what was wrong; he thought maybe Sokka had stabbed his hand with his spear again. He edged around the bush, and his good eye widened. A girl who looked to be about 13 was lying on the ground, her white dress stained with blood and torn everywhere. Her black hair was a tangled mess. Her skin was a pale ivory color.

"This…is not meat", Sokka said rather stupidly. Zuko looked at him like he was hopeless, than looked back at the girl. Sokka was poking her check.

"Is she…dead?", he asked. Zuko nudged her with his foot.

"Hey! Girl. Wake up!" he said. She moaned but did not wake up.

"Nah. She's just unconscious", Zuko told Sokka. He nodded.

"I think we should take her back to camp", Sokka said. Zuko was shocked that he actually had a decent thought for once. Zuko picked her up and carried her bridal style. They hurried back to camp in silence. When they got back to where everyone else was, they saw Katara washing Appa, and Aang and Suki practicing their arts. Zuko cleared his throat loudly, and when everyone looked over, Sokka said "A little help here, Katara?" The group rushed over as Katara went into mother mode.

"Zuko, take her by the fire. Suki get me a cloth, and Aang, go get me some water from the stream. Sokka, go get the emergency supply of food for when she wakes up", she ordered. Everyone rushed to do Katara's orders, but Sokka paused as a thought hit him.

"We have an emergency food supply?" he questioned with outrage.

"It's in my sack on Appa. Just go", she snapped, when she saw his mouth open to argue.

"Katara, she's still cold. The fire's not doing anything", Zuko said from his position next to the girl.

"You're the firebender, can't you do something?" she said, preoccupied with preparing her healing water. Zuko looked down at the small girl and took her into his arms, cradling her against his body. She was freezing. Using his inner fire, Zuko warmed his body up just enough to warm the girl. Katara kept shooting him glances, but he didn't know what for. After a few minutes, she came over with her prepared healing material.

"I think she's warm enough", Katara said icily. Zuko shrugged.

"For now. But when you're done healing her, I'm going to need to warm her up again. Her core temperature is really low. If we'd found a little later, she would've gone into a coma or died", he said. Katara's look softened.

"Okay. Just…let me take a look at her."

For the next half hour, Katara worked on the girl, cleaning the blood from her head and body. There was no salvaging her dress, though. The rest of the group sat around the girl anxiously, waiting for Katara to say everything was alright.

"Well", she said, voice tired and slightly shocked, "she had a large gash on her head. No internal damage, really. Just some cuts and bruises." Katara bit her lip and looked down at the frail girl. She was debating on whether or not to tell the group the extent of the girl's injuries.

"Is that all, Katara?" Zuko asked quietly. She smiled internally; he always could read her like a book. She knew that from the beginning, when he'd returned (using the word loosely) her mother's necklace. She took a deep breath.

"Yeah, that's all", she said. "Go ahead and take her, Zuko." He nodded and took the girl into his arms, warming her up instantly.

"I should go start on breakfast, Sokka did you get any meat?" Katara asked.

"Err…not really. We were to caught up with her", he said, motioning to the girl. Katara nodded, and turned away.

"HEY!" an unfamiliar voice yelled. Katara whipped around to see the girl struggling against Zuko's hold, wild-eyed and panicked.

A/N- Hey people. I think I may switch P.O.V a lot, but it should be easy enough to follow. If not, lemme know!

Chapter 2 should be up soon!

Rate and review, please! :D


	3. Chap 2 Of Introductions and Nightmares

**Disclaimer: I STILL own nothing..**

**Enjoyy!**

The group stared at the girl, who was still struggling against Zuko.

"Hey, calm down!" he shouted.

"No! Put me down!" she yelled. Anger and a slight bit of terror was evident in her voice. Aang walked over to her and Zuko and held onto her shoulders, as if to steady her.

"It's okay, we're just trying to hel-", he began, but got cut off.

"NO! Don't touch me! St-stay away!" she screamed, close to tears.

"Please, listen to us. We really are just trying to help. Can you just calm down, everything will be alright", Katara said in a soothing voice. The girl froze. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were still shut.

"You…you're a girl?" she asked. Katara nodded in confusion. She was thinking the same thing as everyone else: Why does it matter if Katara is a girl?

"Well, obviously. I mean, just look at her", Sokka said. "Does she look like a guy to you?" The girl was quiet for a moment.

"Err…yeah. Ha…uhm, no, I guess not", she mumbled out. Suki and Katara exchanged glances.

"Can you put me down now?" the girl asked Zuko. "I'm not going to run, I promise." Zuko shrugged and set her on the ground. She picked herself up and held her head high.

"Who are you?" Aang asked. Sokka clapped slowly.

"Beautifully subtle, Aang" he said. Aang shot him a glare.

"No, it's okay. I'm Number 52", she said.

"Number…fifty…huh?" Sokka asked.

"You asked who I was. I'm Number 52", she repeated. The whole group was looking at her as if she was insane.

"That's silly; your name can't be a number", Suki said. The girl shrugged.

"It's what I've been called since I was ten." The glances exchanged by their little group went unnoticed by the girl. She looked so young, but acted as if she had seen to much. Her head was held high, and her raven black hair covered her eyes. She looked like a little porcelain doll.

"What were you called before then?" Zuko asked.

"Uhm…Toph", she said, as if the name sounded foreign on her own tongue.

"Well, Toph", Katara began, "you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you want." Toph smiled slightly. Not knowing what to do, the little group slowly drifted off. Sokka and Suki went to do God knows what. Katara went to go cook food while Zuko followed after her like a lost puppy. Soon, only Aang and Toph were left, alone by the tents.

"I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Aang", he said, taking a seat across from her. She nodded. "The one with the scar was Zuko. Sokka had the ponytail and boomerang, and Suki had short brown hair. The one with the long braid was Katara."

"You don't say", Toph said quietly. Aang thought he heard a bit of longing in her voice, but he couldn't place why, exactly. Maybe, he thought, it's because she's so far away from home. Yeah, that's gotta be it.

"Everyone's really cool, even Zuko, but it takes some time to get used to him. Me? I'm the Avatar, but I honestly don't want to be", he said truthfully.

"Why not?" Toph asked.

"People expect everything from me. It's stressful, knowing the whole world is counting on me to take down the Fire Lord. And then there's the fact that I care about everyone to much to see them get hurt because of ME. They're the only family I have. I can't lose my everyone I care about all over again." His voice had taken on a quality that hinted at strength and determination. Toph was impressed that this boy, no older than herself, had the fate of the world balanced on his shoulders, and still managed to keep a care-free and optimistic attitude.

"So what's you're story?" he asked. Toph tensed.

"Oh…well, I was part of a…traveling group. There were a lot of us, that's why I was a number. Nobody had time to learn names. Anyway, we were traveling through this swamp, and a huge storm swept through our camp. Number 53, a dear friend of mine, tried to help me after I was thrown into a tree. That's when I felt myself rising. Then I woke up here", she said

"That's a really neat story. How were the people? Were they friendly? I'd like to meet them someday", Aang rambled, oblivious to the tense girl sitting in front of him.

"No. You wouldn't want to meet them", she said. All the things they did to her, the nightmares she went through every night, fearing that it would happen again any second. She shivered, imagining the sight it must have been, her screaming, unable to do a thing, the boys cruel faces as they leered over her, 53's face, with his eyes hidden and ears covered, trying to erase the memory of what went on almost every night.

"I'm going to bed", Toph said suddenly, getting up.

"But it's the middle of the day", Aang said.

"I know."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_It was dark, and the other people in camp were asleep. Number 52 lay wide, awake, hearing the boys in her tent stirring. Dread and fear were the only two things on her mind._

_ "52, daaarling", she heard 54 drawl next to her ear._

_ "How are you doing on this fine night?" 51 asked. Toph didn't respond. Instead, she prayed that they thought she was asleep._

_ "We know you're up, 52", 55 said quietly. The small girl shivered._

_ "Guys, leave her alone. You're all disgusting", Number 53 said angrily._

_ "Oh, shut up, 53", Number 54 said. "We all know you want some of this." He gestured down to Number 52. Number 53 opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Number 55._

_ "Seriously, man, just butt out. Or we'll make you", Number 55 threatened. 53 paled, and, giving 52 a look of regret that she couldn't see, turned over in his cot._

_ "So, sweetheart, let's get back to it", said Number 54. Number 51 grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, earning a sharp cry from 52. She wanted to try to get away, but she knew it was useless. Every time she resisted, they just made it more painful. Number 55 took her arms and held the behind her back. 54 slid her white dress off her body, pulled down his own pants, and swiftly entered her. She cried out again, more harshly this time._

_ "No-not again…p-please st-op", she yelled, tears streaming down her face._

"No…stop…can't…hurts…NO!" Toph shot up to hear pounding from outside her earth tent.

"Toph! Hey, Toph, are you okay?" she heard Aang shout. A small hole was made in her earth tent, and it quickly crumbled with a few more blows from Sokka's boomerang. They sure were a sight to behold. Aang with a worried look on his face, Sokka and Zuko panting from trying to break down solid earth, and Katara and Suki rushing over from the small stream. Toph herself was sitting up, breathing in short gasps and drenched with sweat. Aang was the first one to speak.

"Toph, I think it's about time you tell us whats going on."

**Welp, that's chapter 3 for ya. R and R, per favore!**

**And have a Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Boxing Day and all that jazz**


	4. Chap 3 Of Anger and Confessions

**Hey all…sorry on the slow updates. Things have been…busy. I'll try to update as often as I can. On with the story!**

"What…what are you talking about?" Toph asked in a useless attempt to make them think everything was fine and dandy.

"Toph, we aren't idiots", Katara said.

"Well, maybe Sokka", Aang said, earning himself an indignant shout from Sokka. Aang just smiled innocently at him.

"As far as I know, people don't shout things like 'stop' and 'please' in their sleep", Zuko said breezy. Toph scowled.

"Excuse me for havin' a nightmare", Toph said.

"Toph, I'm good at reading people. The look on your face when you were…er, dreaming, was, well, bad. It looked like you were reliving a time in your life. We're just concerned", Aang said. His words seemed to have gotten to the blind girl, because she took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I swear, I'm fine", she said shakily.

"Right. And I'm an angsty, emo-tastic Fire Nation Prince", Sokka said sarcastically. Zuko glared at him.

"Toph, It's ok", Katara said soothingly. Suki nodded her assent.

"You don't have to be afraid of us", she said.

"Come on, we want to-"

"ALRIGHT! God. You really want to know? I was part of the Boryokudan. I was keeping watch with a boy, Number 17. He was pissing me off and I tackled him. That's when the…well, I don't actually know what it was, but it swept me up, and the next thing I knew, I was here", Toph said quickly. "That's why I was screaming 'stop'. That…thing was effing scary."

"Huh. Mysterious wind. Sound familiar to anyone?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah. Like the swamp", Katara replied.

"Swamp. That's what we were in", Toph interjected.

"Giant winds are scary enough, Toph, but…it didn't sound like that was the reason you were…" Zuko began.

"It WAS!" Toph roared. "Just…leave me alone. All of you. I shouldn't have stayed this long anyway." And with that, she stalked off into the woods.

"Uhmm…" Suki said, flabbergasted.

"I should follow her", Aang said.

"You probably should", Sokka said, but Aang was already in the air.

Stupid Aang, Toph thought as she made her way through the woods. Stupid Katara. Stupid Zuko, Sokka, Suki. Stupid me…Toph plopped down on a large boulder with a sigh. She felt a poof of air next to her, but brushed it aside as a little breeze.

"Toph, I…"

"AHH!" Toph yelped, falling off her boulder with a thud.

"Oh. Jeez, uh, I'm sorry. Here, lemme help you up", Aang said, pulling her up.

"Get off, I'm fine" she said, pulling her arm away from Aang's firm grip roughly.

"Didn't you see me?" he asked, sitting next to her on the big rock.

"No, Airhead. I'm blind." Aang gawked at this girl. How had he not seen it? Of course she was blind. The girl didn't look any of them in the eye. Her hair was always in her face. Now that he really looked, her eyes were a milky green.

"Oh…uh, I see. I mean, no offense, just…", Aang took a deep breath. "Toph, none of us meant to make you upset or uncomfortable." The tiny girl turned away from him.

"I'm fine. I don't need your care", she told him gruffly.

"We really are just trying to help you", he said gently. Toph was quiet for a moment.

"You want to know so badly?" she asked, voice barely more than a whisper. Aang had to strain himself to hear her. "It was mostly boys, the Boryokudan. I honestly don't know why they even added girls. Anyway, it started, like, two years ago. All of the guys in my tent were a couple years older than me. One night, the first night, I was lying in bed, trying to sleep. I heard a rustling near me. One of the boys suddenly grabbed my arms, holding them behind me. Another held my legs. They were stronger than I was. The other took off my clothes…and they each took turns. I was THIRTEEN", she shouted; the sound was guttural, and Aang jumped from the sudden change in volume. "Almost ever single night, it happened again and again. No one heard. And if they did, nobody cared enough to help. There was one boy, Number 53. Friendship only went so far, though. He tried to stop them at first, but after getting beaten every time, he just…gave up. And so did I", Toph finished, looking at the ground. A mix of emotions fluttered through her: confusion at why she just poured her deepest secret out. Relief. Disgust at herself. Fear.

Aang, however, sat in stunned silence. He couldn't even begin to imagine what she went through. He didn't really know what to say to her. He supposed there was nothing to say. He wrapped his arm around her thin shoulders, pulling her towards him and into his strong chest. She recoiled at first, but sunk into his embrace, letting her tears fall freely.

There's Chapter 3! And no, it's not the end of the story. I have bunches of ideas for what I want in this story, but if you got any ideas, lemme know! R&R, please!


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